Special Memo to Mr. Howard Taylor, Research Analyst in Human Relations Dpt. - First Notice

To: Howard Taylor

From: Richard Philbin

Re: First Notice on “Shrink Act Files” Project

            Look, Taylor, I don’t know what’s been going on with you recently that’s made you even more impossible than usual, but I think it’s time you and I had another long talk in my office.  There are a few things that I had assumed we had straight after the last time you tried making a ruckus like this, but that’s apparently not the case, so now I have no choice but to point them out to you again.

            You’ve been with this company faithfully for nine years.  You’re a talented coordinator of special projects.  You’re a highly respected colleague and your opinion is valued by many of the executives in the Human Relations department and beyond.

            I think, though, that this state of affairs has led you to believe you are untouchable.  This would be an egregious error in judgment.

            When I got wind of the proposal for this “project” you’re working on, I was led to believe you were intending to research the effects of the MRD on groups of people from a redemptive and sociopolitical point of view, in order to help give reassurance as to the Shrink Act’s sustainability as a young program.

            What I did not expect to find you doing was tracking down sob stories, rare exceptions, and general collateral of what is nevertheless one of the greatest strides forward in criminal justice during the current century.

            First, on the Edwards family which you so unceremoniously ambushed with your attentions: may I remind you who, exactly, Dale Edwards was and is?  The man was dealing tens of thousands in narcotics every month and gambling most of it away.  After he ran away from his family, abandoning them with next to nothing, he held up eighteen different businesses and even injured four people during his various escapes.  You call that someone worth letting free again?

            Second, at South Hanenrow: how dare you?  Professor Taggert is a respected member of the faculty who’s been doing wonders for the school’s disciplinary system, and you chose to take potshots at her by viewing a very specific instance completely out of context in a single visit.  May I remind you that one of the students she’s correcting, who’s underage, no less, was not only drunk but dropping waste in the university dean’s yard.  If that’s not behavior that needs immediate correction, then I honestly can’t comprehend what sort of anarchy you seem to want for this world.  If that wasn’t enough, eight of the students she’s working with right now have been showing vast improvement in behavior and academics.

            And finally, on the Williams family: I can’t even begin to say anything more on this that hasn’t already been said very clearly, but I’ll try one more time to get it through your skull anyway.  That girl is pure and simple a little felon just waiting to happen.  She’s lucky she’s young enough that she hadn’t hit eighteen yet, because if she had, she’d be even worse off.  Just look at her behavior already.  She’s got a laundry list of what some call “juvenile” crime so they can still pretend they’re looking at a child, though frankly, any individual who’s got the initiative to light a piece of personal property on fire for the sheer fun of it deserves to be called anything but a child.

            Listen, before you go brushing this all off like you always do, I know full well I’m in the minority here.  There are enough people around in the Human Relations department and the rest of the company that like what you do and apparently are willing to fritter away thousands annually for you to trounce around the country listening to criminals whip up some tears and framing victimized individuals as the villains.  However, that does not in any way mean you can expect to be let off the hook for much longer.  I’m watching your every move, Taylor, and I’m going to ensure your playtime doesn’t last forever.

            I’ve heard you talk about the ethical use of the MRD before on a podium, spouting off like you have a clue about how a whole system functions based on one element.  Well, I’ve got news for you, Taylor.  What you’re doing here is trying to sabotage good works that only aim to keep families safe, save the taxpayers millions annually, and rehabilitate rather than rot away lawbreakers in a cell.  If you can fall asleep at night, knowing that you’re fighting such a peaceful and ideal future, you’re even worse than I thought.  You can stand on your soap box for as long as you want, but society will still continue to march forward right around you until it is just you all alone in the cold babbling at yourself.

            It would do you well to remember the name of the company that’s signing your paychecks as you continue on with whatever scheme you’ve raveled yourself into now.

Signed, Richard Philbin

Junior Executive of Interdepartmental Affairs